Psych 160 Midterm 2: Ch 5-9

Ch 5: Emotion

What is an emotion

“Brief responses that are subjectively experienced as

feelings, that have a physiological component, that can be

expressed in behavior, and that prepare a person for

action”

What are the 4 key components of an emotion?

Feelings (“wow i’m so angry!”), Physiology (*fast heart rate*), Behavior (*puffing out chest & scrunching nose*), Action (*punching someone or yelling*)

Appraisal theories of emotion

Emotions are generated by appraisals, how people think shapes their emotions

Describe the evidence for universality of emotions across species

1. All humans use the same 30-40 facial muscles to show emotion so different cultures will perceive & convey them similarly

2. We share evolutionary history with mammals & they all show emotionally expressive behaviors somewhat similarly

3. Blind people express emotions the same despite not having visual input due to evolutionary processes

Describe one of Paul Ekman’s studies on the universality of facial

expressions of emotion

• Traveled to Papua New Guinea to find people not exposed to western media

• Presented tribe members with images of different emotions + an emotion appropriate story to pair the images with

• Results…? People from different cultures, religions, political structures, etc agree in now they label photos of happiness, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, & fear

Describe evidence that conflicts with the universality thesis

1. Affect valuation theory - emotions that promote important cultural ideals are valued & will play a more prominent role in the social lives of individuals

2. Different languages have emotion words that do not

   exist in English (ex. Schadenfreude)

Name and describe evidence supporting the view that emotions are functional

Ford, Feinberg, Lam, Mauss, & John, 2018

• People were shown news reels of trump saying stuff (some more than others)

• Stronger negative feelings —> more likely to do smth about it

• More reappraisal to calm down feelings —> less likely to do smth about it

Describe the studies presented in the Jamieson et al article including its key hypotheses, procedures, IVs, DVs, results, main conclusions, and implications

Describe the appraisal model of emotion and what it means for emotion

regulation

Situation (typically negative) —> Appraisal (process & think about what’s going on) —> Reappraisal (think once more about what’s going on and calm down emotions) —> positive/laid back emotion

Name and describe the two types of happiness that researchers havemdistinguished

1. Hedonic happiness —> pleasure, life satisfaction, few negative emotions

2. Eudaemonic happiness —> virtue, sense of purpose, autonomy, good relationships

Describe (from lecture) the hedonic treadmill and set-point theory, and their implications for happiness

Set point theory: Ppl have a certain level of happiness (baseline level) that you always return to, and good or bad things only create temporary spikes/dips before you return to baseline

Hedonic treadmill: We will constantly be chasing after more happiness (we get used to what we have and then want more) (short term pleasures)

Part of the same concept/theory. We can't necessarily become happier permanently (set point), but always strive to do so (hedonic treadmill)

Name at least two reasons for why people are not good at forecasting

happiness

Immune Neglect: Our tendency to underestimate our capacity to be resilient and find the silver lining, leading to an overestimation of how something will reduce our happiness

Focalism: We focus too much on the most central elements of an event without considering how other aspects of our life will influence how happy we are

Describe at least three things research has found that make people happier

1. Being with other people (social bonds)

2. Practicing gratitude

3. Giving vs receiving (sharing, volunteering charity)

4. Experiences vs material possessions (long-lasting memories vs temporary happiness)

5. Cultivate awe inducing experiences (less worries abt time, removes self centered thoughts)

Describe cultural differences in emotions that people want to feel

East-Asian cultures value calm more (low-arousal,

positive emotions) while European-American

cultures value excitement more (high-arousal,

positive emotions)

Ch 6: Attitudes, Behavior, and Rationalization

Define: Attitude

An evaluation of an object in a positive or negative fashion that includes three components, affect, cognition, & behavior

Attitude —> Intent —> Behavior

I feel good about jogging —> I intend to go jogging today —> *I go jogging*

Describe LaPiere’s findings. What is its main implication for our understanding of the attitude behavior link?

• Went on a 10,000 mile, 2-year road trip with Chinese-American couple.

• 90% of participants said they were prejudiced against Chinese-Americans but the couple was only refused service once

• Attitudes don’t always lead to strong behavior because there could be other, stronger, attitudes at play

In addition to attitudes, which factors influence people’s behavior?

Subjective norms: If smth is supported or not supported by your peers (My friends often go jogging so I will too)

Behavior control: Whether or not we believe we have control over the behavior (I have so much hw I have no time to jog)

Implicit attitudes: Attitudes either outside of our awareness or that we don’t want to share

Why were (mainly US) researchers mistaken for so long about the direction of causality concerning attitudes and behavior?

Consistency between attitudes and behavior is highly valued in US culture & usually people are pretty consistent with their attitudes & behaviors but there is a difference between attitudes on general categories (Mexican food) vs specific behaviors (like/dislike enchiladas)

Define implicit attitudes and explain how they are measured (e.g., IAT)

Attitudes either outside of our awareness or that we don’t want to share

Measured by the IAT with reaction time tests

Reaction time from round 1 (hard if bias is present) - reaction time from round 2 (easy if bias is present) = Higher score —> Greater implicit bias

Describe cognitive dissonance theory. Describe one study that supports this theory

Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Behavior that’s inconsistent with our attitudes makes us uncomfortable so we try to change our attitude to accommodate

Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959:

• Participants did a boring task for 2 hours

• At end ppl were paid $1 or $20 & had to someone them the experiment was fun (a lie)

• Results: Ppl who received $1’s attitude changed more positively about the experiment while ppl who received $20’s attitude didn’t change

• Why?

  • $1 isn’t enough to justify saying the experiment is fun —> dissonance —> attitude about the experiment changes “This was boring *hypes it up* but $1 isn’t enough to justify my behavior so the experiment wasn’t so bad”

  • $20 is enough to justify saying the experiment is fun —> no dissonance —> attitude about the experiment doesn’t change “This was boring *hypes it up* but $20 is enough to justify my behavior so the experiment was still boring”

Describe and provide examples of different types of cognitive dissonance

Effort Justification: If you pay a high price for smth, and its disappointing you’ll experience dissonance & try to justify what you did

Induced Compliance: When someone is forced to behave in a way that is inconsistent with their beliefs, attitudes, or values causing people to change their original thoughts to reduce dissonance

“Forbidden Toy” Paradigm: The threat of a severe punishment will stop people from doing what they want to do in the moment but still want to do it later, while a more mild punishment will stop people from doing something and bring about change where they won’t be tempted

Describe a study that shows how tendencies to engage in dissonance reduction might differ cross culturally

Americans care more about relieving cognitive dissonance than East Asians

Kitayama et al., 2004:

• Japanese vs American ppl rank 10 CD’s from 1-10

• Participants given 5th ranked CD

• In second round of ranking American participants rate gifted albums higher while Japanese participants didn’t

• Interpretation: Americans care more about cognitive dissonance than Japanese

Describe self perception theory and one study that supports this theory

Self Perception Theory: Ppl understand their attitudes by looking at past behavior & the context in which it happened and infer how they feel about something from that

D. J. Bem, 1967, 1972:

• Participants read descriptions of dissonance experiments

• Asked what they think the experiment participant’s attitude was

• Results: Observer subjects replicated the attitudes of the actual participants

Describe system justification theory and provide an example for it

System Justification Theory: People want to see the sociopolitical system they live in in a positive light so they will justify things against their values to avoid dissonance

Examples: “Low-income people may be poor but they’re happier than rich people” or “Women many not have much power but at least they’re kind and more socially connected than men”

Ch 7: Persuasion

What are three features of people that will make them more persuasive?

What are the three elements of persuasion and in what way is each part important?

What role do demographic factors play in determining the persuasiveness of a message?

Elaboration Likelihood Model

What is the peripheral and the central route to persuasion?

Is there convincing evidence to suggest that subliminal messages actually influence behavior? What about other aspects of persuasion that are outside of people’s awareness?

What is the personality factor “need for cognition,” and how does it influence persuasion?

Describe the ways in which the media are and are not effective tools of persuasion

Define attitude inoculation and describe one research study supporting it

Ch 8: Social Influence

Define social influence, conformity, obedience, and compliance

Define informational social influence and normative social influence, and describe a study that demonstrates these

Describe the classic studies by Sherif, Asch, and Milgram (including the IV, DV, and key findings). What are each of their main implications for our understanding of social influence?

What are some moderating factors that influence the basic Asch finding?

What key processes lead to obedience?

What are important moderating factors that influence the basic Milgram finding ?

Ch 9: Attraction & Relationships

Describe the proximity effect, the mere exposure effect, and the empirical studies that support each of these two effects

Describe the matching and the complementarity hypotheses. Which one is more supported by social psychological evidence? Describe one study that supports this hypothesis & name one exception to this general rule

What is the “halo effect”?

How does evolutionary psychology explain attraction? What is the main gender difference in “mate selection”? What evolutionary psychological explanation for this difference? What is a cultural psychological alternative explanation?

Explain the rewards perspective on relationships and three theories that areassociated with it

Identify the three major attachment styles according to attachment theory and describe their correlates

Give examples of the kinds of external circumstances, personality/individual differences, and communication issues that can predict relationship dissatisfaction

Identify the kinds of actions that contribute to healthy romantic relationships

Identify and describe different kinds of love